President Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently outlined a $46.3 billion budget request to invest in clean energy technology, as well as boost the funding for fossil fuel research near Pittsburgh. She told lawmakers that the plan will revitalize the U.S economy “by taking on climate change” and bring America to the forefront of clean energy. For the radical left, the “green” in green energy has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with money.
The budget includes promises to cut solar energy costs by 60% in the next ten years, a wind goal to power 10 million homes and support 77,000 jobs, as well as $109.5 million in funding for coal communities.
But many GOP officials have pushed back against Secretary Granholm for a number of reasons. Back in January, it was reported that Granholm would make up to $5 million for stepping down from her position on the board of the electric vehicle company Proterra in order to be confirmed as Energy Secretary.
While she agreed to sell off her stock options within 180 days of taking office, President Biden and VP Harris have been singling Proterra out for praise to sell their infrastructure plan and giving a virtual tour of their facilities. Even though there are hundreds of electric vehicle manufacturers in the U.S, the Biden Administration ignored all but one.
“Proterra was selected for the virtual visit that day because it is the leading U.S. manufacturer of electric buses, employing 600 workers at its South Carolina and California plants. Neither Secretary Granholm nor the Department of Energy were involved in selecting the Proterra plant,” a senior administration official said of Biden’s Proterra tour.
It was also described as “ethically questionable” when Granholm promoted electronic cars as part of the administration’s “climate change” push, which would increase the company’s value as it goes public – and increase Granholm’s bank account.
Top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Sen. John Barrasso even called for an investigation into any conflicts of interest in Granholm’s Proterra investments and the plan’s promotion of electric vehicles. It was also reported that she co-owns Granholm Mulhern Associates, a consulting service to green energy companies, with her husband.
“Given that status, the up to $5 million in value of investment that Secretary Granholm continues to hold in Proterra, Inc. is positioned to increase in light of her personal and substantial involvement in an aggressive, wide-ranging, and tireless public relations campaign to promote electric vehicles, batteries and charging infrastructure; her leadership in promoting President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, including its proposal to spend $174 billion ‘to win the EV market,’” Barrasso said.
Granholm even told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last month that the Biden Administration would not be using “past definitions of infrastructure.” While she wouldn’t elaborate on what that claim means, it must indicate that the new definitions of infrastructure include major conflicts of interest and corruption.
She has also blamed the “pandemic” for soaring gas prices since Joe Biden took office. In January, the average was $2.38 per gallon and $2.11 per gallon on Election Day last year, Now, it nearly stands at $3 per gallon -$2.96. The state of California has seen some of the largest increases in price per gallon for gas, which is now approximately $4 a gallon. Granholm told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that the skyrocketing gas prices are from a “post-pandemic economic recovery” and that gas prices only fell during the height of the pandemic because Americans were not traveling as much. Tapper asked whether Biden’s policies are to blame for the gas prices and if it has to do with the virus itself.
“People need to travel, you’re right, but we need to get the virus under control first, we need to get to that 70%, we need to get to herd immunity. Why have gas prices gone up? Could that be because of the virus itself as well? Everything is tied together,” Granholm replied.
The Biden Administration and Department of Energy have emphasized that the pause of new federal oil and gas leases, as well as getting rid of the Keystone XL pipeline permit, will have “no effect” on energy prices until 2022, but others pointed out that this only sends a message about the future of fossil fuels. The amount of oil coming down the XL pipeline would’ve kept gas prices down and thousands of Americans working.
Under Trump, America was becoming energy-independent and the prices of a barrel of oil were dropping by the day. Now, the suspension of fracking, drilling permits, permits to work on federal land, new climate regulations, and stopping many pipeline projects are making fuel prices more expensive than ever, eventually leading us back to importing oil. If it’s not the virus or climate change, then it’s about blaming Trump. Biden is starting a war on fossil fuels and the market is pricing that in.
